Desegregation program in MA comes under fire from an unusual source: African-American parents
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15337132

Other News

Report says that disadvantaged students from urban areas show about the same results in academic achievement regardless of whether they attended a public or private school
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/10/17/08report-1.h27.html

Big Brother at school: Education is too important to be left to the government
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2007/10/17/big_brother_at_school/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News+%2F+Education

School Funding Litigation/Policy

MN school districts are “basically begging for money” as they fear having to slash $173 million from their budgets in 2008-09
http://www.startribune.com/10224/story/1489343.html

Opinion – NY Schools Chancellor Klein endorses "fair student funding,” but the plan might erode public support for the schools because it defines the public-school system as a wealth-transfer program
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10162007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/kleins_gamble.htm?page=1

State Roundup

CA high schools boost academic rankings by sending low-scoring students to alternative programs that have separate tests, but this move generates ripple effects in the state's ability to allocate funds and create effective programs for needy students
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/16/BA6KSQCE9.DTL&feed=rss.education

CA approves a performance test for new teachers that requires aspiring educators to show students are learning before they earn their preliminary licenses
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/10/17/08calif.h27.html?levelId=1000&

Republican lawmakers in CO unveil their ideas and “real solutions” to improve education
http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1192628287/15

DE adopts a new curriculum that aligns classroom lessons with standardized tests
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071017/NEWS03/710170365/1006/NEWS

Nearly 900 IL public schools fail to meet NCLB achievement targets
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=58877&src=109

The experience of a New Orleans charter school offers a cautionary tale of how well-meaning trustees can easily stumble, and of how privatizing management is often far from a panacea
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/education/17education.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=dc534b5c8771f468&ex=1350273600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

VT state officials ask children for their educational views
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071017/NEWS02/710170354/1003/NEWS02

NCLB is branding numerous schools as failing, but it is not producing radical change
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/education/16child.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087&em&en=c7c277fee0c8388f&ex=1192680000

Commentary – Not Who But What Is Left Behind: Learning to be a good American citizen
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/10/17/08stock.h27.html

Other News

Editorial – “Probe Special Ed Disparities”
http://www.nj.com/opinion/ledger/editorials/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1192423111237310.xml&coll=1

Commentary – Five Assessment Myths and Their Consequences
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/10/17/08stiggins.h27.html

School Funding Litigation/Policy

FL school officials were relieved when cuts to education were largely avoided in the legislature’s property tax proposal, but the numbers released yesterday were less comforting than expected
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/10/16/State/Deep_school_cuts_in_o.shtml

A proposal to pump $21 million into special education falls victim to IL’s budget fight, and school districts affected by the proposal are in limbo, waiting to see if budget talks get back on track
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/10/16/news/state/doc47144674b5443036730975.txt

State Roundup

AZ charter schools suspend their lawsuit against state education officials over social studies curriculum
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/206482

Los Angeles Superintendent considers the idea of splitting off low-performing schools into what would amount to a special district until their academic scores improve
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/10/17/08brief-7.h27.html

Poor results on the MCAS science test raise a warning flag for a state that has staked its future on the life sciences and high-tech industries
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/mcas/articles/2007/10/16/poor_results_on_mcas_science_test/

Special education advocates in TX lobby against “stingy school districts that would rather litigate than get children the specialized help they need”
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5216988.html

OH’s new attorney general turns to the court system to shut down charter schools he argues have shown consistently poor academic results
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/10/17/08ohio.h27.html

OR gets a “D” according to a sobering report on the status of children, but on the flip side, more children in the state are getting quality day care, preschool or primary school after the Legislature pumped more than $100 million into education initiatives
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/119250333784990.xml&coll=7&thispage=1

A failed education experiment: Privatization runs amok in the post-Katrina New Orleans school system
http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=nolas_failed_education_experiment_

School integration efforts face renewed opposition: Will the Supreme Court’s June rulings accelerate the re-segregation of America's schools?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119204532864854966.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Federal/NCLB

President Bush adds “or above” to his typical description of NCLB’s central goal because voters want schools to teach “more than just the basics”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/10/17/08nclb.h27.html

Opinion – As NCLB reauthorization debates continue, “we need to focus on the quality of our standards and assessments rather than fighting over who administers them”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/14/IN9GSOEUC.DTL

Opinion – The shaky foundations of NCLB must be confronted, as recent polls reveal that a majority of Americans believe that the law should be rewritten or simply scrapped
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/14/INDOSMADJ.DTL&feed=rss.education

Opinion – Why 'No Child' Was Needed: Many classrooms were boring, dull places where children were discouraged from independent thinking and forced to do endless worksheets before NCLB
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/12/AR2007101201539.html

Other News

MA charter school propels inner-city schools, but can this success be replicated nationally?
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Spotlight/Story?id=3699902&page=2

Blurring lines among students and subjects – School experiments by placing honors, regular and special education students in the same rooms, offering a course that unifies social studies and English, and encouraging every child to reach higher than before
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/14/AR2007101401152.html?nav=rss_education

On urban schooling – New Orleans could end up saving public education because policy makers decided to start from scratch, fashioning a public school system based on new ideas and promising models of reform from around the country
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2007/10/14/the_schools_that_katrina_built/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News+%2F+Education

School officials say more special education students need alternatives to federally required standardized testing, and the federal government’s new exception doesn't fill the need
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071014/FOSTERS01/710140074

State Roundup

AZ will pursue an appeal over non-English-learner order, arguing that a trial judge is illegally demanding the state to spend more money to teach English to students who come to school not knowing the language
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/education/206321

State assessment reflects both the continuing struggle to elevate the performance of AZ’s troubled and mediocre schools and the success of top schools in ratcheting up their marks
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1015schoollabels1015.html

DC holds a forum on youth issues for young people to talk about topics that affect them, and participants focus overwhelmingly on the school system
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/13/AR2007101301126.html?nav=rss_education

KS is one of a handful of states that doesn't require schools to recognize dyslexia, and parents form a coalition to lobby for change
http://www.kansas.com/news/story/201117.html

Analysis shows that graduation rates are up for urban minorities in OH
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/10/15/z-apoh_gradrates_1015.ART_ART_10-15-07_B7_J386F8F.html?sid=101

When most children are asked if they want to have a longer school year or day, their immediate reaction is a resounding ‘NO!' But superintendent says, “we find we have more curriculum than time”
http://newsok.com/article/3147196/1192285065

NYC expands cash prizes for students that perform well on Advanced Placement tests
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/nyregion/15rewards.html?ex=1350100800&en=d2ea19762a868364&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Published Monday, Oct. 22, 2007